The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want (Psalm 23:1, NIV).
When it comes to the resources that we need for life, this promise from the 23rd Psalm is staggeringly important to remember, because it holds the promise of contentment in our lives. The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. Wow!
A famous actor was once the guest of honor at a social gathering where he was asked to recite favorite excerpts from various literary works. An old preacher who happened to be there asked the actor to recite the twenty-third Psalm. The actor agreed - on the condition that the preacher would also recite it. The actor's recitation was beautifully intoned with great dramatic emphasis for which he received lengthy applause. The preacher's voice was rough and broken from many years of preaching, and his diction was anything but polished. But when he finished, there was not a dry eye in the room. When someone asked the actor what made the difference, he replied, "I know the psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.
When we know God, we have everything we need. An amazing strength and unshakable contentment comes from a source that is not our own. It comes from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Knowing God makes all of His resources available to us. Resources like:
- wisdom
- guidance
- power
- peace
- love
- patience
- self-control
In other words, God provides strength for every area of life. Strength is fertile soil for peace, and will produce a harvest of contentment.
Psalm 29:11 “The LORD gives His people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace.”
God did not come to give us human strength. He came to give us His strength!
Isaiah 12: 2 “The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”
When we count on His resources instead of our own, we will experience true contentment. I read a story about a man who had to cross a wide river on the ice. He was afraid the ice might be too thin to hold him, so he began to crawl on his hand and knees, fearing that he thought might fall through at any moment. Just as he neared the opposite shore, totally exhausted, another man glided past him nonchalantly sitting on a sled loaded with iron weights.
Aren’t we just like that man? We live each day, crawling through life, settling for our meager strength and our pitifully limited resources, afraid that His promises will break under the weight of our circumstances.
When will we learn that there is no limit to His power and no end to His strength? In fact, our weakness is the perfect showcase for God’s strength.
According to the American Holistic Health Federation, people who are not satisfied with their lives increase their risk of premature death by at least ten percent. Hudson Taylor once noted that, "God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him." Paul writes in another letter to the church at Corinth, “My power works best in your weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:19).
How about you? Are you ready to exchange your weak resources for His by giving up your rights, your plans and solutions? Do it! Lay them at His feet and choose His plan instead. Contentment will be yours.
